Nokton 75mm F1.5 Review
The Voigtländer Nokton 75mm f/1.5 Aspherical is a beautifully crafted portrait lens designed for Leica M-mount cameras, offering an exceptional combination of compactness, fast aperture, and gorgeous rendering. With a classic telephoto focal length and an ultra-fast f/1.5 aperture, this lens is perfect for portrait photographers and rangefinder enthusiasts who want excellent subject isolation, creamy bokeh, and a tactile shooting experience.
Build and Design
Voigtländer’s build quality is always impressive, and the 75mm f/1.5 is no exception. The lens is entirely metal, giving it a premium, durable feel without being overly heavy. At 350g, it’s relatively light for an ultra-fast 75mm lens, making it a fantastic alternative to bulkier options like the Leica 75mm f/1.4 Summilux. The aperture ring clicks confidently into place, and the manual focus ring is silky smooth, providing excellent control for fine adjustments. The lens is available in both black and silver, with the latter offering a slightly heavier brass construction for improved balance.
Optical Performance
This lens delivers exceptional sharpness wide open at f/1.5, especially in the centre, with a gradual and pleasing fall-off toward the edges. The bokeh is stunning—smooth, creamy, and organic, giving images a distinctive character that separates subjects beautifully from their backgrounds.
Colours are rich and contrasty, and the lens handles chromatic aberration well, even in high-contrast scenarios. Voigtländer has done an excellent job minimising optical flaws, and the aspherical element ensures distortion and coma are kept to a minimum. Vignetting is present at f/1.5 but is often desirable in portraiture, helping draw attention to the subject. Stopping down improves corner sharpness significantly, making the lens versatile for more than just portraits.
Focus and Handling
This lens made me realise the importance of a properly calibrated rangefinder. Initially, I struggled with focus accuracy, especially at f/1.5, where the depth of field is razor-thin. However, once I had my rangefinder properly adjusted, I found that manual focusing with this lens was not more difficult.
The focus throw is well-damped and smooth, allowing for fine control—crucial at f/1.5. On a Leica M, the focus tab makes operation intuitive, and it pairs beautifully with focus peaking on mirrorless cameras like the Leica SL or Sony A7 series. The minimum focus distance of 0.7m is standard for rangefinder lenses, but it does limit close-up work compared to some modern alternatives.
Who is it for?
This lens is ideal for portrait photographers, rangefinder shooters, and manual focus enthusiasts looking for a fast telephoto prime that delivers outstanding image quality with classic character. It’s also a great option for Leica users who don’t want to pay the high premium for the Leica 75mm f/1.4 Summilux but still want a lens with an artistic, dreamy rendering.
Drawbacks
- No weather sealing, making it less ideal for harsh conditions.
- Some vignetting at f/1.5, though it adds to the lens’s character.
Conclusion
The Voigtländer Nokton 75mm f/1.5 Aspherical is a portrait photographer’s dream. It’s fast, beautifully built, and delivers gorgeous bokeh, with sharpness and contrast that rival much more expensive lenses. While it’s a manual focus lens, it rewards those who take the time to master it with images full of character and depth. For those seeking a Leica-like experience at a fraction of the cost, this lens is a no-brainer.
Samples
Here are some recent photos I captured using the Voigtländer Nokton 75mm f/1.5 Aspherical lens. These sample shots highlight the lens’s performance across different conditions, settings, and subjects. To view the complete collection of photos taken with this lens, the link.
